Shropshire businesses are being urged not to leave preparations until the last minute as a series of major changes to employment law come into force over the coming months.

Alasdair Hobbs, managing director of Telford-based employment law and HR consultancy Human Results, said employers should be reviewing their policies and management procedures now rather than waiting for individual changes to take effect.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 is introducing reforms in stages throughout 2026 and 2027, with further significant changes due from October.

From October, the time limit for most employment tribunal claims will increase from three to six months, while employers will face strengthened duties to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. A series of changes affecting trade union rights will also take effect.

Further reforms are due from January 2027, when the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal will fall from two years to six months and the current cap on compensatory awards for unfair dismissal will be removed.

Alasdair, who has more than 35 years of experience in employment law and HR, said the scale of the changes meant businesses needed to look beyond simply updating their staff handbook.

“There has been a lot of discussion about employment law reform, but the important question for employers now is what they are actually doing to prepare,” he said.

“For most businesses, particularly smaller employers, this doesn’t need to mean suddenly rewriting every policy they have. It means understanding which changes affect them, looking at where their current procedures may need strengthening and making sure the managers responsible for dealing with staff understand what is expected of them.

“We are talking to businesses about these changes and one of the messages we are giving them is not to wait until a new right comes into force before thinking about how they are going to manage it.”

Alasdair said line managers were particularly important because they were often the people making day-to-day decisions about performance, absence, conduct and other workplace issues.

He added: “The reduction in the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal from January, for example, means employers will have a much shorter window before many employees acquire that protection.

“Employees with at least six months’ continuous service on 1 January 2027 will be covered by the new rules - that makes good management even more important. 

“Managers need to set clear expectations, address concerns when they arise and keep appropriate records. If an employee isn’t performing as expected, ignoring the problem for several months and then trying to deal with it quickly is rarely a good approach.

“The same principle applies more widely. Good HR isn’t about having a folder full of policies which nobody looks at. It is about making sure the policies work in practice and the people responsible for implementing them know what to do.”

For more HE or employment law advice, visit the Human Results website at www.humanresults.co.uk